Scottie Scheffler got within a foot of becoming the second player to twice break 60 on the PGA Tour.
The world No. 1 had a 26-foot birdie putt on his final hole Friday at TPC River Highlands but left it on the high side. He tapped in for a 10-under 60 to take the clubhouse lead at 16 under, two clear of Viktor Hovland (61).
Scheffler previously shot 59 in 2020 in the second round at TPC Boston in what is now known as the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Jim Furyk is the only player in Tour history to twice break 60, shooting 59 in Round 2 of the 2013 BMW Championship and then shooting the first (and only) 58 on Tour in the final round of the 2016 Travelers.
“It was kind of funny. It was like, yeah, it would be cool to shoot 59, but somebody has already shot 58 here, so it’s not even the course record,” Scheffler said after his round.
“You know, Jim kind of takes away a little bit of the special 59 when you are losing still.”
Friday’s second round in Cromwell, Connecticut, was played with preferred lies following heavy rains that pushed back tee times a half-hour. Scheffler, who opened in 64 to sit one off the 18-hole lead, twice had four-birdie stretches in the second round. After a birdie-bogey-birdie start, he birdied Nos. 5-8 to turn in 30.
After a birdie-par-par start to his inward half, he again made four straight birdies on Nos. 13-16.
Needing one more circle to match history, Scheffler missed the green long at the par-4 17th and saved par from 6 feet. He then hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker at the par-4 18th but gave himself a birdie chance with a solid approach to 26 feet, 3 inches. Scheffler’s putt, however, started right and stayed right.
Following his performance, Scheffler was asked what he remembered about the time he did shoot 59. Scheffler said, not much, other than, “I lost by, like, 10 shots or something like that.” It was 13, actually, as Dustin Johnson won at 30 under. Scheffler tied for fourth.
There was no 59 this time but there is a good chance for a 21st PGA Tour victory. The 2024 Travelers champion, Scheffler is looking for his second Tour win of the season, having captured The American Express in his first start.
Jake Knapp is the most recent player to shoot 59 on Tour, doing so in the first round of last year’s Cognizant Classic.